Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Hey guys! I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I was going to get this post up Monday, but viruses took over my computer! Kevin has had to do scans for the past two days to get rid of them. Anyway, everything is cleared up now. We got back in from Dallas on Sunday evening and had a great time! We shopped and ate until we were full and out of money! Literally!! lol...Kevin has a friend in Dallas so he hung out with him on Saturday while Sherry and I went down to market. I've been going for almost fifteen years but am still amazed every time I go. Each showroom has something different and unique. I have definitely been noticing alot of contemporary/clean lines over the last few years. It's just about all you see on HGTV these days. Love the bright yellow, gray and white together in this showroom. Click to enlarge all pics...

Now this is very contemporary! I am seeing alot of grays and silvers mixed with other colors.

The lime greens and purples are good together. I think purple might be coming in... This is not a good picture, but those lights were so cool!! They are made out of purple crystals. See the mirrored chest in the background? Mirrored pieces are everywhere! Love them! Although contemporary is in so is traditional/elegant. Look at this bedding! I am still seeing alot of leopard and red together. Zebra is still going strong too. Look at the bottom of this bedding...so pretty! I went in one of my favorite showrooms and took pictures of some beautiful chests. I loved this black hand painted one.

The blues, creams and golds are big right now. These next two chests are so pretty, and look at that gorgeous mirror!

Beautiful...and love the lamps too.

This chest would look so cute in a beach house.

For the rabbit lovers! Too cute!

Isn't this so fresh and elegant? I am really loving this look! Boy would I have to do some major changes to my house to achieve this look! lol...I don't think that's going to happen.

Can you see the rooster pot rack? Too cute...Love the chippy shabby chic table and chairs...oh and the rug!

Now this is really shabby chic! If you like the aged chippy look then this is for you. And I was worried about a few chips in my cabinets!! Oh my!

I also noticed alot of baskets and basket material being used. You can see in the hanging lanterns...The natural balls are also really popular.

There are so many cute garden items everywhere you look. I bought one of the vases with the basket weave at Stein mart. I noticed those in alot of showrooms too. I spy some roosters!

I didn't even touch the surface of what's there!

As you can see there are so many different colors and styles that are "in" right now. The main thing is to decorate with what you like...not just because it's the hot new trendy thing. Traditional is always in and can be mixed with other styles.

I should be back on Friday if all goes as planned to show you the entire kitchen finally DONE! I even found a rug for underneath my kitchen table! I am still in shock! lol...I just need to make a little pull down shade for my kitchen door then it should be complete. As far as the major stuff goes...I am always changing around accessories!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

I hope you are all having a wonderful week! I have some beautiful wreaths to show you! Thank you for sending me these pictures...I love seeing what you have created with the mesh and tulle. You have really outdone yourselves!

This beautiful wreath was made by a reader named Nancy. Isn't it adorable?! The pink and green looks so pretty together. It looks like she used the thinner mesh...it's easier to work with. I haven't been able to find it in these colors around here. Love the cute bunny and butterflies!! Beautiful job!!

This cute wreath was made by Avery at Yours and Mine . Love it!! That sign and all of the bunnies are adorable! Beautiful job!!

This pretty wreath was made by a reader named Angela. Everything coordinates beautifully. The tulle works out perfectly... It gives it a wispy look. I love the simplicity of this one with just the ribbons and eggs. Gorgeous!!

This pretty wreath was made by Pattie at Pandora's Box. Love the hot pink and light pink together. Very cute ribbons and eggs! Love it!!

Too cute!! This adorable wreath was made by a reader named Lela. This one is so bright and cherry!! I love the green tulle and the bunny is so cute...and look at the wreath hanger. I don't think I've ever seen one that fancy! Beautiful job!!

This cute wreath was made by a reader named Carol. It is so pretty and full! She really knew how to work that mesh! Love the little bunny in the middle...just as cute as can be!!

This pretty wreath was made by a reader named Tracy. Love the softness of this one...the bunny coordinates with the eggs and flowers just perfectly. Beautiful job!!

Love the little chick in the middle! The blue and pink mesh match him perfectly...Very pretty! Can you tell I am big on coordinating? lol...

Ok, this one was made by me...I had to sneak it in. I made it for a sweet lady who I've known for years. She is a good friend of my mom and I took piano lessons from her. (my mom made me...lol) Ok...I'm glad I took lessons now that I'm older. Anyway...hehe... She picked out the pretty peach fluffy tulle stuff. I really don't know what to call it...it is in between mesh and tulle...love it! We picked out some of the little flowers together and I coordinated the rest! She was very pleased! It turned out really cute and will be perfect for the spring and summer months. It sort of has a citrus feel to it with all of those colors.

I have made myself one and I will show it to you soon. Thanks again for sending me all of your pics! If you decide to make one please send me a pic. I'll do another post when I get several in.

I am off to Dallas tomorrow!! Kevin and I decided to drive down for the weekend while Chase is gone. He is on a cruise in the Caribbean! Lucky!! He has been gone since last Friday...I am really missing him. That's why I have been working like mad on the kitchen. I wanted to get alot done while he's gone.

When I return from Dallas I plan on filling up my Etsy store again. I got sidetracked with the kitchen, but I'm ready to get some things made. Have a great weekend!!!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

First thing first...the winner of the spring giveaway by random generator #20... is Donna~One Simple Country Girl!! Congrats!! I'll be contacting you for your address. I wish I could give you all something. Thank you for all of your sweet comments and entering my giveaway...I will have another one in a few months.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!! I am just getting over my soreness from painting and distressing this island!! No kidding! It took me FOREVER! I guess I'm really out of shape and not used to all of the bending and stooping. Anyway, I am really lovin how it turned out! It was all by trial and error...believe me! Before the glaze and sanding I was beginning to regret the whole green thing...but after a day and a half of messing with it I am finally happy with it. I hope you all like it because it is staying how it is...lol! I have also done a few other things in here this week that I will be showing you soon. It's all coming together...yay!!

I lightly sanded the whole island then painted almost three coats of the misted fern green. After it was dry I glazed it with the stain I used on the cabinets. (If you would like to see my tutorial on glazing cabinets please click here.) Then I took a darker green I had in the garage and brushed a little on here and there. After I saw there was still something not right I sanded around the edges and a little on the drawers and cabinets to let some of the cream show through. That really helped to tie in the cabinets. Before it looked like a giant green thumb in the middle of the room!! lol...

Here is a closeup... I'm still lovin the new hardware! Click to enlarge to see the detail.

This is the other side...love the black stools against the green.

I will be doing a before and after post on the whole kitchen next week! I have more beautiful mesh wreaths to show on Thurs. You guys really have some great ideas!! Have a great rest of the week!I am linking to Savvy Southern Style. Please pay her lovely blog a visit for a list of participants.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Yay!! My cabinets are finally done!!! If you have been following my mini kitchen makeover then you know we recently bought new stainless steel appliances. My next project was to re glaze the kitchen cabinets and add new hardware. I glazed them when we first moved in, but always thought they needed a little more so I have been tackling this project for the last two weeks. (off and on because I'm a little lazy...lol) I am loving the way they turned out!! It's not a huge change, but just enough to warm them up and add more character. For you who like the chippy look...there are plenty!! I decided not to touch all of them up.

I have also reworked some of the tops of the cabinets. One thing calls for another!

In this picture you can see I have not done anything to the island yet...

You can really tell the difference between the cabinets and island in this picture.

Close up

Lovin the new hardware! It really changes the look of the kitchen!

Now I am going to tackle the island...It's going green!! I had a decorator/paint expert help me with the color. She picks out paint colors for alot of new homes. She has used this color before and said it is really pretty. You can't tell much about it from this, but I think it will be beautiful especially after it's all glazed. We will see!! It's called misted fern by Sherwin Williams.Speaking of green...We just bought this little set at Wal-mart the other day. It also came with a coffee table and two chairs. Love the color!

I wasn't sure about the pillows that came with it so I am having them recovered with this pretty striped fabric. I am also having all of the pillows on the outdoor patio recovered in this too. This fabric just makes me happy!! :)

I am going to work on the island this weekend...if all goes as planned. We also have a ton of yardwork to do...uggg. The crape mertyls are past time for a trim!

There is still time to enter my giveaway...just click on my previous post.

Two more things...lol...I have several of your beautiful mesh wreaths to show soon...so stay tuned!! Also, someone asked the color of the cabinets and I found out it is Everlasting by Sherwin Williams.

Have a wonderful weekend!! I hope it's warming up in your neck of the woods!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Are you ready for a spring giveaway?? I have been excited about this one...I found some really cute bunny kitchen items at market in January. I just love the colors and bunny prints! Did I mention that I really want to keep them?? LOL! Ok, I bought a few items for myself so I will give these up! I also made a coordinating frame to go with them!

If you would like to enter my giveaway please leave me a comment. If you post about my giveaway on your blog, please come back and leave me another comment...you will be entered twice. I will draw a winner by random generator on next Tuesday evening. Good luck!!

Imagine sipping some cool lemonade on a warm spring day...

This frame would look pretty just about anywhere! Love the red, greeen and gold plaid ribbon...

The cute little pouch holds a wonderful smelling bar of soap. The hand soap smells really good too, and the towel is just adorable.

Thank you for entering my giveaway! If you are new to my blog I would love to have you as a follower!!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Hey Guys! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I am ALMOST done with my cabinets!!! Yay! I will be showing you soon. Also, since it was so nice yesterday we went ahead and bought a little patio conversation set at Wal-Mart I have been wanting. I am going to dress it up a bit with some cute pillows, but we really like it, you will see that soon too...The warmer weather really has me in a sprucing up mood! I can't wait to get outside and plant flowers.

Now on with the wreaths...

You will probably remember the tutorial I did on the Easter mesh wreath a week or so ago. Click HERE if you missed that post. I asked if you would e-mail me a picture if you decided to make one. I'm still waiting on some, but thought I would show what you have sent me so far. They are just beautiful! Look at this one Carrie from DittleDattle made....Adorable!! She actually painted the bunny to brighten it up a bit. She could not find the mesh so she used tulle and it worked great!! So there's an idea! If you can't find the mesh...use tulle. It is probably alot easier to work with too. Beautiful Carrie!

Here is another adorable wreath made with the tulle from Kimberly at Kimberly's Corner. Love that cute glittery "Happy Easter" in the middle. Beautiful job Kimberly!!

Both of these wreaths are made by a reader named Shannon. She made one for Easter and St. Patricks day. They are both so cute!! Love the bunny she used in the one below.

Beautiful job Shannon!! It looks like the mesh in this one might be wired around the wreath rather than cut. Another great idea!

Thank you so much for sending me these pics! Keep em coming! I am going to start my giveaway on Tuesday...it's some pretty cute stuff so you don't want to miss it! Have a great Monday!!

EDITED TO ADD...One thing I need to mention about the mesh is that it does tend to unravel on the ends. Since the mesh naturally curls, I just tuck it underneath. You will need to either trim as you go, or trim it all after you are done. A few of you have e-mailed me about this problem so I felt like I needed to address it here on my blog. If the unravelling really bothers you then you can go another route. You can wire the mesh on like in the St. Patrick's Day wreath above, or you can use tulle instead. As you can see in a few of the wreaths above, it works well too.

Featured in Country Woman Magazine fall 2012 for kitchen and crafts

I'm a 42yr. old mother of 1. I've been married for 21years to a wonderful man, Kevin. We have one son together named Chase who is 14. We live in a small town in Arkansas and have a dog named Sassy, a cat named Coco and now a chinchilla, Tiki. My husband is a Database Administrator and I have my own business called Kristen's Creations where I make and sell a variety of crafts. I worked in a shop as a floral designer for 15 yrs. until it closed. My former boss decided to retire and lease out her building. I enjoy crafting, decorating, and hanging out with my family.
E-mail me at Kristenscreations@hotmail.com